Exodus of North Easterners from Bengaluru shows signs of subsiding

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The exodus of North Easterners from the city to their home states on fears of attacks showed signs of subsiding on the fourth day on Saturday since they started fleeing, according to indications from Railway authorities.

In confidence building measures, six companies of Rapid Action Force have been deployed, besides increased police patrolling in areas prominently inhabited by people from the North Eastern states, official sources said.

Even as a few hundreds of North East people waited outside the city railway station to leave for their home states, fearing reprisals for the Assam violence, railway authorities on Saturday morning did not announce any special trains.

They said it is too early to take a call to arrange for special trains unless ticket sales reaches a cut off point of 2,500 a day. "Based on ticket sales, we will arrange for special trains. As of now sales have been slow paced."

However, they said they would take steps to arrange for special trains if ticket sales increase through the day as it did on Friday.

They said eight special trains had been arranged in the last three days, apart from three regular trains which had ferried nearly 30,000 people to their home states.

Cracking the whip in the wake of the exodus, police arrested six persons on Friday on charges of attack, intimidation and sending 'false' SMSes to people of the region.

Assam Ministers Chandan Brahma and Nilamoni Sen Deka, who are in the city, had said on Friday they were impressed with the steps taken by the government to safeguard the interests of people from the North East.